National Integration in Multicultural School Setting in Malaysia
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The Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Science Volume 1, Issue1 National Integration in Multicultural [1] Faculty of Education University of Malaya, Kuala School Setting In Malaysia Lumpur [email protected] Abu Bakar Nordin [1], Norlidah Alias [2], Saedah Siraj [3] [2] Faculty of Education University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur [email protected] [3] Faculty of Education University of Malaya, Kuala ABSTRACT Lumpur [email protected] Malaysia is a multicultural country constituting three major ethno-cultural groups, Malay and Bumiputera, Chinese and Indian. Owing to its diverse cultures attempts through a number of channels, politics, economics and social were made to bring about national integration. School is thought to be the most effective platform to bring about national integration based on the multicultural framework. This study examines the influence of both the selected school and student background variables on integration. The survey conducted on Form Four and Form Five students found that integration is not monolithic but tends to be interpreted into three frameworks or models: assimilation, multiple- identities and multiculturalism. Ethno-religious-cultural backgrounds seem to be much more influential than the school variables in determining not only the strength but also student preference for a specific integration framework or model.. National Integration, Multicultural Schools, Multicultural Keywords: integration, Integration In Malaysia INTRODUCTION Malaysia with a population of 28.3 millions (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2010) is pluralistic and multicultural. The three main ethnic groups constituting the Malays and Bumiputera (67.4%), Chinese (24.6%), Indians (7.3%) have their own unique culture and heritage, such as language, belief system, tradition and religion. The lifestyle patterns of the different groups have direct links to thedifferences in their values and expectations(Syed Serajul Islam, 2008). Since achieving independence fifty-five years ago, Malaysia has undergone economic transformation in terms of diversification of its agriculturein the 1960s to manufacturing in the 1970s-1980s, and then to technology-based development since the 1990s. These achievements came as a result of the ability of Malaysians, diverse in their culture, to tolerate, and to live and work together in realising the country’s overall goals of growth and prosperity. But then as pointed out by Musa Hitam (2007), nation-building is not just about providing highways, byways and hospitals. It is also about weaving together national values for the citizenry to live by and devising greater missions to galvanize their camaraderie and spirit. Such a vision of weaving together national values is still far from the set goal. For Malaysia up to the present day, except for the 1969 race riot between the Malays and the Chinese, and the 2001 clashes between the Malays and the Indians, race relations have been peaceful unlike what had been experienced in countries with mixed populations such as Nigeria, Rwanda, Bosnia, Thailand, Sudan, and India (Zaid, 2007).The basis for conflict between the ethnic groups stems from identity contestation in the form of language and culture (Shamsul, 2006). In the 1970s, the Malays advocated that the core of the national culture should be that of the Malay. This assimilative approach was unkindly viewed by the Chinese and the Indians. Relationships between the ethnic groups are rather complex, intricate and sensitive, especially when dealing with matters of religion, culture and language. These features are important in identity contestation, a phenomenon created by the British in the context of colonial knowledge and its investigative modalities (Shamsul, 2006). According to Shamsul, it is through the colonial practice of codifying, documenting and representing the social, cultural, economic and political state in history that modern identities in Malaysia like Malay/Malayness, Chinese/Chineseness and Indian/Indianess have emerged, consolidated and fortified. Realizing the danger of creating distrust among the ethnic groups the government had rescinded the assimilation strategy and sought the policy based on the multicultural model. 20 www.moj-es.net The Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Science Volume 1, Issue1 In any society, the educational system is closely related to societal needs and thus it cannot ignore the political,economic and cultural-ideological factors which influence its functions. As a result, educational systemshave environments that give them purpose andmeaning and define their functions, limitationsand conflicts. In Malaysia, since independenceone of the national objectives has been unity;henceforth, all the enacted educational policies have stated that unity is their overarchingobjective. The Razak Report of 1956 and Rahman Talib Report (Federation of Malaya, 1958, 1960) were the foundation for subsequent national policieson education. The National Language Policy declared that Malay languageis the national language and medium of instruction inthe national schools. The centralized schoolcurriculum and examination, and the inclusionof subjects like civic studies, are attempts toensure integration, tolerance, and national consciousness. Until independence in 1957, Malaysia (Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak) was very much a plural society and very much a model as described by Furnivall(1949) inheriting social, economic and politicalvestiges of the colonial policy of divide andrule.Relations between ethnic groups were full of distrust. A nation would not be able to be forged in such a situation. Thus, thetask of national integration has to be seriously and immediately undertaken and indeed this is a massive challenge. The term integration hasbeen defined as a process whereby politicalactors in several distinct national settings arepersuaded to shift their loyalties, expectationsand political activities towards a new centre(HaasinSyedSerajul Islam, 2008). In brief, national integration is a process of bringing together discrete elements of a society intoa more integrated whole, or to make out ofmany small and diverse societies a closerapproximation of one nation (Wriggins in Syed Serajul Islam, 2008). Studies on integration in schools have shown the tendency that student attitudes are polarized. A research report on Practicess Towards Unity in Six Schools by the Planning and Research Unit of the Ministry of Education (1995) shows that these schools have yet to achieve their objectives of shared values and practices towards unity. Instructional methods such as group discussions, student presentations, shared assignments and many other modes of shared and cooperative learning may activate inter ethnic participation. However, this is not the case for Malaysian students in general are taught to sit, listen, and recite memorized information. Interactions among students of different ethnic origins in both co-curricular activities and during recess were found to be at the minimum level. The scenario at the tertiary level is much the same as in schools. According to Sagawa (2007) current campuses are in danger of breeding intolerance, ethnocentrism and segregated communities. In Malaysia, nation building and forging of national unity amongst the various ethnic groups rank very high in the educational and political agendas. In fact, national unity and integration is the cornerstone of the education policy. Social scientists have studied the process of national integration from three universal theoretical perspectives. First, the general systems theory analyzes whether there is a regular and continuing inter-connectedness in the subsets or elements of a system. Inter-connectedness is the main ingredient in the formation of value congruence in a system. Von Bertalanffy (1972)noted that the formation of value congruence is why all ongoing social systems actually show a tendency toward a general system of common cultural orientation. Second, the transactional or communication salience theory of Deutsch (1964), Jacob and Toscano (1964) and others has also been used to explain both the degree to which people are connected and the way changes in the direction of communication affect the direction of integration. Deutsch explains that when a community experiences many transactions the people who have experienced these transactions will like them. If these transactions were rewarded, the image of community may be strongly positive. He says the perception of a sense of community allowed diverse groups to exchange norms, values and expressive symbols unconsciously. Third, the spatial perspective sees integration as a function of the geographic distribution of people. According to Mabogunje (1981), the movement of mass populations into different regions of a country is a significant way of achieving integration between a people and its territory, and also between different groups within the population. These theories help to identify the main areas for the proposed strategy. Within this context, analyses of the construct usually begin with the question: Do the people of a social system possess common ideals and believe these ideals are important? This question is foremost because, as Abernethy (1969) has noted, when people believe they belong to a terminal community, whose values and institutions they consider worth preserving, they become less likely to permit conflicts that could threaten the existence of the community. The renowned African political scientist Ali Mazrui